


Until You Come Home

by memoriesofrain



Series: Snow&Hope Headcanons [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Headcanon, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I Made Myself Cry, M/M, Sentimental, Snow is a loveable idiot, Tumblr Prompt, can be seen as platonic or romantic, fluff ending, or Both, someone give Hope a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 10:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6325210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memoriesofrain/pseuds/memoriesofrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It'd been a long time since he'd seen Snow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was not expecting this to hurt me so much to write, but GOOD GOD did it hurt me. But this was inspired by chanceoftsunderestorms on tumblr, so go check them out http://chanceoftsunderestorms.tumblr.com/

                When Serah and Noel stumbled back into Academia, Hope wasn’t surprised. The two time travelers visited often for bits of advice and to offer gravitation cores for his ark. But Hope had to admit that he’d never seen Serah look so wistful and melancholy from one of their scavenger hunts. It was worrying, but Hope didn’t know how to ask without sounding nosy. Instead, he gave them both a small smile and waved them over.

                “Welcome back you two, I hope your latest adventure was fruitful,” Hope said.

                Serah nodded her head. “We gave another gravitation core to Alyssa just a second ago, that makes six of them,” she said proudly, and Hope felt his smile widen.

                “I cannot thank you two enough for doing this.”

                “Well, you can’t just thank us this time, you’d also have to thank that big idiot,” Noel said, scratching the back of his head.

                Hope’s eyebrows furrow at the statement. “Big idiot?”

                Serah’s eyes brightened considerably. “Oh, Hope! You wouldn’t believe it, but we saw Snow in Sunleth Waterscape!”

                He felt his mind come to a sudden halt. “Snow?” he whispered, not believing what he was hearing. When was the last time he had even heard any news about him? “That’s… that must have been a shock.” He couldn’t seem to make a coherent thought form about the news.

                Serah didn’t seem to notice though. “Yeah, he’s been fighting this ginormous flan, protecting Fang and Vanille,” she paused and seemed to be searching for the right way to phrase her next statement. “He’s trying to do what’s right, but I wish he’d be more careful.”

                Noel snorted beside her. “I don’t think Snow knows how to be careful. He’s reckless is what he is, he almost got himself killed before we helped him out,” Noel grumbled.

                Noel and Serah continued their commentary on Snow’s appearance in Sunleth Waterscape, but Hope had tuned them out. The sudden panic that was released in Hope made him close his eyes and take a deep breath. That couldn’t be true. Snow was strong, physically stronger than Lightning, and he’d been the best sentinel in the group when they were traveling together. And he was a l’cie again, right? From what he’d picked up from Serah and Noel he was. How long had he been there anyway? Was there a way to solve that paradox and bring him home? And Hope felt a selfish desire fester in his chest. Snow had become one of his closest friends and he couldn’t deny that there was an attraction to the man. He wanted Snow with him, in Academia. Snow’d be here with Hope and safe and Serah could- Serah could visit him now. Serah and Noel could visit him any time they wanted to. Was it so wrong for Hope to finally want something for himself since his desire to save his mother and Vanille and Fang? He just wanted-

                “Hope?” Serah’s voice cut through Hope’s thoughts.

                “I’m sorry, Serah, what did you say?” Hope asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t dwell on this right now.

                “I was just wondering if we could use those rooms again like we did last time.”

                Nodding his head, Hope gesture for them to follow him. “Yes, of course, just let me do one more thing.”

                Hope walked over to one of his scientists. “Specialist Avery, I have a task for you,” he said softly. Avery nodded his head firmly and waited for his instructions. “There has been a… report on some paradox activity in the Sunleth Waterscape. Would you take your team and report on any unusual findings?”

                “Are you sure, Director Estheim? Shouldn’t we focus all our efforts on the ark?” Avery asked, though he was already sending out a message to his team.

                “It’s something that garners looking into, and I would appreciate it if you would do this for me.”

                “My team should be out in an hour and I’ll report our findings to you by this evening.”

                Hope clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Thank you, Avery, I look forward to your report.”

                He could allow a team of scientist to be gone for a day, the ark was already ahead of schedule. Maybe he just wanted to confirm that everything was okay.

 

 

                He’d seen Serah and Noel to their room to rest before returning back to his work station. And clearly he was fooling himself because he’d been staring at the same screen for almost thirty minutes now. The pace of his work had slowly decreased as the time grew closer and closer to Avery’s return. Worrying wasn’t doing him any good, but he couldn’t seem to stop.

                “Director?” Avery asked, making Hope turn around fast enough to almost give himself whiplash.

               “Avery,” Hope said, keeping his voice inviting and calm. It would not do to panic before he even heard any news. “What did you and your team discover?”

                Avery looked a bit contrite at the question but cleared his throat to speak. “On our expedition to Sunleth Waterscape, we were unable to find any unusual things. The monster activity seems to have quelled down from what it has been in previous years and we found no evidence of any paradoxes.”

                “So, nothing unusual?” Hope asked for clarification. He already felt better about the whole situation.

                “Unless you count a flan who seems to have a knack for fashion, no,” Avery said with a chuckle. Seeing his confused expression, Avery continued. “There was this flan that was creeping along with what looked like a black scarf of some kind. It was quite funny looking, Director.”

                A black scarf. No, that wasn’t a black scarf at all. That was Snow’s. It was Snow’s bandana that Hope had made fun of early on in their friendship, but had grown on him as time went on. Hope closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was Snow’s. God, what else could it be? He took another deep breath.

                “Avery,” Hope’s voice was soft and he wouldn’t meet the eyes of the other man. “You can- tell everyone to go home for the night.”

                “Director?”

                “I- Please, just tell everyone to go home. We can start again tomorrow, but I…”

                “Have I said something wrong?”

                Hope shook his head, but still refused to look at the man. “I need time to think about some things.”

                Avery made a noise like he was going to say something else, but instead nodded his head and went to go tell the other scientists to go home. As soon as Hope knew he was alone, he let his emotions out.

                It stated with a small keening noise from his throat before tears gathered in his eyes. He’d never see Snow again. He had never said goodbye the first time, being in school, and now he’d never be able to say goodbye or hello or any other greetings that Hope so desperately wanted to give the man ever again. Why Snow? Why did it have to be Snow? Hope let out a watery laugh. Of course it’d be Snow. Snow was, as Noel said, reckless. He was dumb and stubborn and brave and strong and so many other things that made him Snow. Of course it’d be Snow. The tears didn’t stop with that revelation, if anything they only increased.

                “You really are an idiot, Snow,” Hope whispered to the empty room. He gazed at his ark through the tears in his eyes. “You always were. You always talked about Serah and being a hero and how everything would be alright.” He took a steadying breath. “But it’s not. It’s not alright. You were my best friend and I- I loved you so much. You made me laugh, you made me smile and god, you made me so happy. You made me so happy towards the end of our journey when I thought all hope was lost. And I knew you loved Serah, but I loved you.” He took another deep breath. “And now, I’m going to have to live in a world where I know that if you do somehow come to this time that you’ve already died once. You _died_ for doing the right thing and I’ve never wanted you to be more selfish. For once, I want my happiness to matter in the grand scheme of things.”

                The tears slowly slowed down to a trickle, but Hope said no more. Time would move forward, he couldn’t dwell on a paradox, and he prayed it was just a paradox.

 

 

                “You two be safe,” Hope said, looking pointedly at both Noel and Serah.

                Noel laughed. “What kind of fun is that?” he asked.

                Serah opened her mouth to say something before pausing and giving Hope a questioning look. “You changed your wristband,” she commented, nodding at his wrist.

                Hope turned his gaze to his new wristband. While the yellow one had held more sentimental value, the black cloth was comforting. “I thought I would change it up a bit, I’ll probably go back to the yellow one eventually.”

                When he saw Snow again, he’d change it back. Until then, the black cloth was Snow’s scarf. He’d carry it for Snow as long as he’d need to.


	2. Chapter 2

                When Hope heard that Serah and Noel had found the last gravitation cores, he was beside himself with excitement. Finally, they could begin the final phase of getting the ark in the air. He had an agricultural team working on getting plants to start growing and to start producing crops and it wouldn’t be long before he moved a colony of triffid to the ark to start pollenating. Not only that, but his architectural division had started looking at the building designs of Cocoon and blending them with the developed Academia style, and supposedly that was going well. Water was slowly being integrated to the ark, but now that the gravitation cores were all together, that process could truly begin. Things were looking up.

                Well they were until he heard the thud of multiple people running into the lab. He didn’t really process what was going on until he heard Alyssa yelp. Seeing his assistant detained was not something he was expecting.

                “Director! Please stay back,” one of the guards instructed, putting himself between Hope and Alyssa.

                “What’s going on?” Serah asked, turning her head as more guards surrounded them all.

                Alyssa flinched back when a guard pointed her gun at her, but tried to hold the artefact in her hands closer to her chest before it was snatched away. She released a panicked cry and made a grab for it. “Give that back!”

                Two guards moved in to restrain her and Hope winced as he saw Alyssa be forced to kneel. “You’re under arrest, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law…”

He was distracted from hearing the rest of Alyssa’s rights by the figure that was approaching Noel and Serah and he couldn’t help but stare in mute wonder.

                “Did I hear somebody call for a hero?” Snow asked, a lazy smirk gracing his face. “I think I did!”

                “Snow?!” Serah and Noel asked, and Hope felt a little bit better knowing that she was just as baffled as he was. “What are you…?”

                Snow briefly turned his attention to Serah and gave her a quick wink before turning his attention to Alyssa’s struggling form. Plucking the artefact from the guards hand he examined it briefly before turning a dark look to Alyssa. “Give it up, sweetheart,” Snow said, and Hope felt a brief twinge of jealousy at the term, but knew Snow meant it mockingly. “We’re onto you. We know everything- like the fact that this artefact is booby-trapped. We also know that someone gave it to you. Someone like… Caius?”

                Alyssa, his sweet if a bit annoying assistant, bared her teeth at Snow. “So what if he did?” she hissed.

                Hope felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. What was going on? Alyssa was… with Caius? When did she meet with Caius? How long ago did they start conspiring? And another thing, how did Snow even find this out? How did Snow get here? Last he’d heard, Snow couldn’t leave the Sunleth Waterscape. “Snow, how did you…?”

                The man turned his attention to him and gave him a warm smile that made Hope’s heartbeat speed up briefly.

“Hope,” Snow said warmly, and Hope felt a smile try to break free of his serious façade. “Caius is on the move and up to no good. The past and the future are looking pretty bleak.”

                “Caius has always been a chaogenus factor in the timeline, Snow,” Hope said calmly, mentally congratulating himself on keeping his cool.

                Snow didn’t seem to hear him and turned his attention to Serah again. “Give me a hand, Serah.” Not even waiting for a reply he grabbed her hand and started walking towards the door.

                Hope felt anger bubble up inside him, not so different from the anger he used to hold against Snow after his mother’s death. It always came back to Serah. Always. It didn’t matter that Snow had just gotten his assistant, the only person who had been his company across the timeline, arrested. It didn’t matter that Snow hadn’t so much as seen Hope in years, centuries if he was going by literal time. It didn’t matter to Snow at all, not his feelings, not leaving without a word, only a brief acknowledgement of his existence before brushing him aside like a child.

He made a noise of frustration that caused Noel and Serah to look at him with disbelief. He realized that neither of them had known Hope when he was a moody fourteen-year-old that was angry at the world, they only knew him as the man with a hope for the future. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and take off. You always do what you want, even if it means leaving people behind,” Hope yelled, putting his hands on his hips. He probably looked like his mother when she would actually get angry at his father. “You haven’t changed at all!”

                Snow looked at least a little regretful and held up placating hands. “Okay, okay, sorry,” Snow said, an abashed smile replacing his confident smirk. “But at least I’m consistent, right?”

                Hope rolled his eyes and gave Snow an unamused look. “Really? That’s what you’re going to go with?”

                A quiet groan escaped Snow as he looked at the ceiling briefly. “Come on, I just got caught up in the moment.”

                “Well Mister Hero, care to actually explain the situation perhaps? It’d be great to know how you knew my assistant was in cahoots with Caius.” Snow snorted, and tried to cover up the rest of his amusement with his hand. “Oh my god, Snow, stop laughing at the word ‘cahoots,’ be serious here.”

                Snow tried to sober up, but gave one last amused snicker before shaking his head. “Sorry, it’s just funny to hear you sound like that, you used big words before, but it was cute coming out of younger you, now you sound so grown up.”

                A bitter smile found its way on Hope’s face. “I am grown up, Snow. If we go by actual age, I’m older than you now.”

                Snow gaped at Hope and seemed to be trying to figure out how that was possible. “B-but… No way, your-“

                “If I’ve done my math right, you’re only 23 at this point in time, while I’m 27, at least physically. If we go by chronologically, seeing as how I’ve never been able to use the time gates, I’m over 400 years old.”

                Snow took a minute to look over Hope, and Hope was proud to say that he was too upset to react to the intense stare the other man was giving him. “I didn’t realize it’d been that long… There wasn’t really a way to tell time where I was,” Snow said, bringing a hand up to rest gently on Hope’s head. “You must have been lonely, huh Hope?”

                Hope desperately wanted to stay mad at the other man, quite frankly the man deserved it, but he couldn’t do it. It hadn’t been long since the incident with Snow’s scarf and he’d dreamt that Snow really was dead since long before that incident. But here Snow was alive and well, and sure it took a little coaxing, but he did care. The hero was usually just stuck in mission mode and forgot about everything else, but he did care. Hope held back the small noise that threatened to escape before slowly stepping closer to Snow.

                Snow must have thought Hope wasn’t moving fast enough because soon Hope felt himself being squished against a warm chest. And god was this what he’d been missing. Even though he wasn’t a very physical person, Hope adored Snow’s hugs. He let himself relax for a minute before releasing a small snort. “You smell, Snow,” Hope whispered softly, a smile starting to form on his lips.

                Snow barked a laugh and ruffled Hope’s hair. “Yeah, well I’ve been a little bit busy so you’ll have to excuse my hygiene.”

                The two startled at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Noel was looking at them with a raised eyebrow, while Serah seemed almost transfixed by their interactions. Hope released an awkward laugh and slowly pulled away from the hug.

                “Are you two always… like this?” Noel asked.

                Snow shrugged his shoulders. “It’s kind of our thing, we fight and then we make up, at least there were no explosions or knives involved this time, right Hope?” Snow asked, winking at Hope’s sputtering form.

                “Explosions?! Knives?!” Serah gasped, looking between the two for an explanation.

                Hope waved his hands frantically. “Don’t worry about that, it’s in the past now,” he said. “Now, I think we should all sit down and discuss what is going on. Noel and Serah, please lead the way to my office, we can discuss things there.”

                The group nodded and started to head towards Hope’s office. Snow slung an arm around Hope’s neck and pulled Hope closer to him. “I really did miss you, Hope,” Snow said softly. “Sorry I didn’t say that before.”

                Hope gave a half-hearted shrug and fiddled with his replacement wristband. “It’s… well, it isn’t alright, but it’s okay. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

                Snow stared at him for a second longer before smiling. “I’m glad you’re okay too.” The two were silent as they followed Noel and Serah before Snow broke it again. “I noticed something.”

                Hope glanced up at the man briefly. “What?”

                “Your wristband is different.”

                Hope felt his cheeks grow hot at the observation and turned his gaze to his wristband. “Oh, yes I- well it was just a temporary thing really. It’s actually, well…” Hope took a deep breath and quickly undid the knot that was holding the cloth on his wrist. Quickly unraveling it, he held it up to Snow. “It’s a scarf.”

                Snow blinked at it curiously before gently taking it from Hope’s hand. “This almost looks like my old scarf,” he said fondly.

                “That’s because it is.” Snow looked startled at the admission and Hope quickly started to explain himself. “Well, at least I’m assuming it’s yours. It was seen at the Sunleth Waterscape with a flan, and it was after Serah and Noel said that they’d seen you in a different timeline fighting a monstrous flan and well I- I assumed that in this timeline you did not survive the fight. So I-I decided that I would hold onto it for you until you came… home.”

                A quiet noise escaped Snow’s mouth. Gathering his courage, Hope nervously looked up at Snow to see his reaction. The soft small on Snow’s face told the whole story. Snow finally glanced down at Hope and leaned down to press their foreheads together. It was terribly intimate and Hope lavished in the moment.

                “I’m home, Hope,” Snow said softly.

                “W-Welcome home, Snow.”

                Their moment was again broken by Noel calling back at them to hurry up, but Hope didn’t truly mind. Snow was back, if at least for a little while, and that gave him hope for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it, my completely self-indulgent fanfic of my OTP. 
> 
> If you have a prompt you want me to write, send me an ask at cakelanguage.tumblr.com/ask :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kooshy requested I expand even further with this AU and here we are :)

The new world was… different to say the least. When Bhunivelze spoke of the new world, the tyrannical god didn’t describe it quite like this.

In many ways it was similar to Gran Pulse, the nature sprawled across the land intermingled with developed areas. In addition to the beautiful landscape, everything was much tamer in this new world. Monsters and cieth didn’t exist here, and the domestication of animals was an enormity. Hope didn’t realize people could successfully tame this many animals, but this world was its own dimension and had been around for centuries before they had arrived.

That was another strange factor. Their arrival was seamless. Apparently, they already had lives here and it was relatively easy to slip into their new lives. Hope thanked all his lucky stars that he was back to his correct age, he hadn’t been looking forward to going through puberty again. He was settled happily at a research facility, researching Galileon cosmology. Hope found correlations in his old computations for his arc and what he was doing know and was comfortable with the knowledge he could bring to the group. Of course, technology wasn’t as advanced here, but it was slowly gaining speed.

At first, Hope didn’t know where the others had ended up. And it was a disheartening realization when he discovered that no one seemed to be around him in the immediate area. But, like he did for all those years before, he waited patiently. They would find each other eventually. They had to.

So it was a delightful surprise for Hope to find an email addressed to him under what could only be Snow’s pseudonym. Hope was not ashamed to say that he dropped what he was doing and immediately attended to the email.

 

**To: hopeestheim@academia.edu**

**From: herosnowv@gmail.com**

**Subject: IMPORTANT: It’s your favorite hero!**

_What’s up big shot? Saw your name in some science-y article and knew it had to be you. Nobody has your name :P Just wanted to let you know that we’re okay._

Hope paused his reading and tried not to let the disappointment show that Snow had already found the others and he was the one left out again. It just happened to play out that way, it was no one’s fault. Besides, Snow had found him and was reaching out to him now. That had to count for something.

_Sazh and Dajh are doing well, Sazh is working as a vet tech, can you believe it?! XD Dajh has started 1 st or 2nd grade now, not sure which, but he’s loving it. That little chocobo chick has become a pet bird, but it still looks the same if you ask me. No more Chocolina I guess?_

He didn’t know much about Chocolina, besides the brief instances where he saw her, but he was glad that Sazh and Dajh were doing well. Those two deserved some family time together.

_Vanille runs a little flower shop and Fang works right beside her as a tattoo artist. Everyone that knows them thinks they’re the cutest couple. Vanille gives out free flowers on Sundays, guess it’s some sort of religious thing she learned while she was at the church or something. Fang’s offered to give any of us free tattoos and I’m thinking about taking her up on the offer. Is it wrong to say that I miss my brand?_

A brief laugh escapes Hope. He knows that Snow means he misses his ties to their old lives and the thing that brought their group together. If Snow had tried to explain it to anyone else, they probably would have looked at Snow with disbelief.

_Noel and Yuel have settled into their lives okay. Noel’s still a little overwhelmed with all the people and he’s still paranoid something is going to happen to Yuel. Apparently his old self (what do you call the person who used to live in your body????) was diagnosed with Enochlophobia so no one questions his aversion to large groups of people. Yuel and Noel are apparently college students, though I’m not sure what they’re studying, but they’re happy and that’s all that matters._

Hope nodded his head at Snow’s words. He had gotten to know Noel quite well and he was happy to hear that Noel and Yuel were settled and moving forward with their lives. 

_Lightning’s doing fine too. She’s the sheriff of the city or something and she rules all her underlings with an iron fist. She’s pretty well-liked around here. Team NORA has evaded her so far and they’ve matured some so I don’t think she’ll have to crack down on them._

Hope snorted before he could hold back the sound. Of course Lightning would be a cop, what else would she be? Though, Hope could also see her being a model of some kind. He wondered what she’d say when she saw him as an adult. He could practically hear her sarcasm from here, wonderful.

_Serah’s fine. She’s teaching again, all her students love her of course. We’ve… we aren’t together anymore just so you know, but it was a mutual agreement._

He could honestly say he wasn’t expecting that. Snow and Serah had been together for, well a very long time now.

_Our relationship hadn’t become something healthy and we realized we were holding each other on this golden pedestal of “do-no-wrong” and we were really dependent on each other. And dependence isn’t bad, we were just reaching an unhealthy level of it. That’s not to say that I don’t love Serah or that she doesn’t love me, just… not in that way, you know?_

Hope felt a hopeful feeling enter his chest, but quickly squashed it down. It would do him no favors if he got his hopes up for nothing. Just because Snow and Serah weren’t together anymore didn’t mean that he and Snow would suddenly start dating. Besides, Hope had no desire to be a rebound in any way, shape, or form.

_But yeah, everything is good here. Oh, I guess I should tell you how I’m doing as well, right? Things have been good. I’m a firefighter, and I know you’re probably laughing, but I think it’s fate that I’m still a hero ;D When I’m not working at the station I’ve actually started writing. I’m planning on writing up our story and if it everyone was okay with it, I’d send it off to some people and see if I could get it printed. But that’s way in the future. Maybe you could help me write it if you aren’t too busy._

_Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what’s going on and I’ve attached a map from your facility to my apartment if you want to come visit. Because you should visit, I’d really like that. Haven’t seen you in a while and I’m getting lonely here without you, Hope :’(_

_I hope to see you soon!_

_Your hero,_

_Snow Villiers_

Hope couldn’t stop the fond smile that worked its way onto his face. Snow never seemed to change, and it was one of the qualities he loved most about the man. He quickly pulled up the map and was surprised to see that Snow only lived a city over. This whole time the group had only been a half hour away and Hope hadn’t even realized it. It would’ve been embarrassing had he not come to terms with the fact that he had been trying to integrate himself in the new world as quickly as he could as to not throw off his fellow researchers.

Before he lost his nerves he decided to tell his team that he was leaving early for the day and that they were free to go home whenever they wanted to. The few that he had gotten friendly with gave him a knowing look.

“You got a date, Estheim?” Rick asked, tugging his jacket on. Rick was the teaser of the group, always trying to get some kind of reaction out of people. The man was a little heavy set and his hair was thinning along his left temple, but he was kind when it came down to it, just a little uncultured.

“Don’t listen to Rick-the-hick, Hope. He’s just jealous because you have plans,” Phineas explained. He was an intelligent man fresh out of college and Hope loved discussing theories with him. It was nice to have someone who could keep up and bounce ideas off of.

“Aw, don’t be like that Finny, I’m just curious.”

Hope rolled his eyes at the two men and continued to pack away his stuff. “I received an email from a good friend and I’m going to visit him,” Hope said, giving Rick a pointed look. “I haven’t seen him in quite a while.”

“Well, enjoy your visit I suppose, but a little warning would be nice,” Rick said, shrugging as he walked to the exit.

“You know you don’t have to leave, right?”

Phineas snorted and shooed Hope with a hand. “Oh he knows, he just doesn’t want to work anymore,” Phineas said.

“Don’t go saying stuff like that, it’ll give me a bad reputation with the boss,” Rick mumbled.

Hope just shook his head and followed Rick’s example, leaving work behind and on his way to see Snow. He wondered if he should feel more nervous about the prospect of seeing Snow again. Was Snow different in the new world? Personality-wise, no, but looks? It was possible. Hope’s iconic uniform he’d worn for years was no longer something he even owned. He’d settled for simple button-ups and slacks mostly, but he wasn’t opposed to casual clothes sometimes.

But back to Snow; would it be like it had been before? Obviously not after Bhunivelze had come to the forefront, but in Academia? Just like that one instance? He would just have to find out when he got there.

 

* * *

 

Two bus rides later he found himself just a block away from Snow’s apartment. He thought it was odd that he was hoping that he wouldn’t see any of the others before he saw Snow. Maybe it was childish, but Snow had actively been looking for him so he thought it was only fair that Snow got to see him first. He’d make a note to visit Lightning next, least he face her wrath.

Just like the city he lived in now, he was enamored by the architecture and events going on around him. The buildings were a little more cramped together, but there was no lack of life. Billboards flashed around him and he was amused to see an ad for Vanille’s flower shop pop up on his walk. Her smile was just as bright as ever.

When he reached Snow’s apartment complex he took a steadying breath to calm his nerves. He probably should have sent an email back and announced when he’d be coming. He let out a quiet groan at his own lack of foresight. Well, there was no point in going back now.

He checked each apartment number with the one that Snow sent him until finally arriving at the right one. Doorbell or knocking? It was probably a safer bet to ring the doorbell just in case Snow couldn’t hear the knocking. But what if Snow wasn’t home at all? But maybe he was.

Gathering his courage he quickly pressed the button and listened to the loud bell echo throughout Snow’s apartment. He waited for a minute or two before pressing the button again. When there was again no response, Hope felt his optimism shrivel up inside him and he let out a defeated sigh. He let his excitement outweigh his rationality and now he looked like a fool.

“Hope?”

It was spoken with wonder and Hope instantly knew who the voice belonged to. He turned around just in time to be swept into the arms of the hulking man. Joyous laughter was ripped from his shocked body and Hope returned the hug as best he could. This new world didn’t make Snow any smaller that’s for sure. With his face crushed against Snow’s chest he couldn’t help by get a whiff of Snow’s cologne mixed with the smell that could only be the fire station he worked at; it was a very pleasant smell.

The two stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying each other’s presence before reluctantly pulling away. Hope unashamedly drank in Snow’s features. His hair was a bit different, still long but his bangs had been tamed and cut out of his eyes. Snow’s stubble was longer and thicker and Hope wondered if it was soft or not. He was dressed casually and Hope spotted a piece of black cloth sticking out of his right pocket. Reverting his eyes to meet Snow’s gaze he felt his almost manic smile settle into something softer.

“Hi Snow,” Hope said softly, looking up into Snow’s eyes.

“Hi Hope,” Snow said with a smile.

It became blaringly obvious that their reunion and fallen into much more intimate territory, but Hope didn’t see Snow trying to break the moment, so he didn’t feel the need to either. Snow reached a hand out and placed it on Hope’s head. Hope first wondered if Snow was going to ruffle his hair like he was some little kid before Snow brought Hope’s forward and pitched his own body forward. When Snow’s forehead bumped against his own, Hope felt like he was home. He let a smile stretch across his face to match Snow’s.

Without Hope even realizing it, Snow had become his home.

 

* * *

 

Snow’s apartment was warm, that was the best way Hope could describe it. It was perfect for Snow; everything looked well-loved and a little worn, but it was all in working order. Snow and Hope sat happily on Snow’s couch, catching up on each other like friends do.

“So what the heck is Galileon cosmology?” Snow asked.

“Well it’s basically understanding why the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating. I just specifically deal with Galileon cosmology. See my field resides around the idea that the galileon scalar field permits models of the universe in which a cosmic jerk kicks in naturally, avoiding the need for a severe shock delivered by dark energy,” Hope explained. He snorted at the blank look he received from Snow. “I’m looking at space and the universe and what’s going on up there.”

Snow nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds like something you’d do, you always were a little nerd.”

“Who are you calling little?”

“Are you kidding? I’m like a foot taller than you, Hope.”

“No you’re not,” Hope crossed his arms and shot a glare at Snow.

Snow waved off Hope’s retort and seemed to take a minute to just look at Hope. Hope squirmed under the man’s gaze, but let Snow continue to stare at him. Instead, Hope focused on the knick-knacks that lined Snow’s shelves. He saw a statue that had been poorly repaired sitting next to a bottle of super glue. Hope tried to see what was in all the photos that were on the shelf, but couldn’t focus on them from where he was sitting.

“But seriously, Hope,” Snow said, placing a hand on Hope’s. “I’ve missed you.”

It was a timid intimacy, as if Snow believed that Hope would suddenly vanish suddenly and never return. Hope couldn’t blame him for thinking it, he had suddenly vanished before. Tentatively, Hope turned his palm face up and slowly curled his fingers around Snow’s. The reassuring squeeze he got from Snow settled his nerves.

“I missed you too,” Hope whispered. “I’ve missed everyone. It’s… it was incredibly lonely being in a new world with no one I knew. Sure my co-workers are nice, but none of them know what I’ve been through, what _we’ve_ been through. I just- thank you for finding me.”

The soft smile on Snow’s face made his heart ding. “It’s not like you were that hard to find, Hope.”

Hope flushed at the statement. “Yet you were still the one who put the effort into finding me. That is what I’m thanking you for.”

Snow gave a small shrug. “I had to find you, I had to bring you home,” Snow paused for a moment considering his next words. “Well, as much as this new world is your home as of now. Some of us are having an easier time adjusting to the world now.”

“And am I home, Snow?” Hope asked.

Snow gave Hope’s hand another squeeze. “I think as long as we’re together, we’ll always be home in some way.”

Hope wondered if his chest would combust as he listened to Snow’s kind words. Maybe Snow was right though, as long as they were together, they would be home.

“When are you going to tell the others that you found me?” Hope asked.

Snow hmmed softly and ran his thumb in circles on the top of Hope’s hand. “Maybe in a little while, I want to enjoy your company while I can.”

Hope nodded his head a few times.  “Enjoy away, I’m not going anywhere.”

Snow smiled; his home was finally coming along.


	4. Chapter 4

Snow never did tell anyone that he’d met up with him, Hope found out. Instead, Snow made frequent visits to pick him up from work so that the two of them could get something to eat together or just relax. By this point, the two had formed a sort of ritual: every other day was spent at the others house. Surprisingly, the ritual was working out fairly well. 

“You know, the others are going to find out you found me eventually,” Hope said from his spot on the couch. His bare feet were situated comfortably underneath Snow’s thigh and combined with the soft cotton of his clothes, Hope could have easily fallen asleep.

Snow sighed softly, placing a hand against Hope’s shin. “Yeah, I know,” Snow admitted. He turned his gaze away from the movie that was playing on the screen to look Hope in the eye. “But I’ve been enjoying this, we’ve gotten so much more open with each other.”

“Well, we just never had the chance to really sit down and talk before.”

Snow nodded his head. “Yeah, but you can’t tell me you haven’t enjoyed it just being us.”

Hope knew that Snow was telling the truth. He’d thoroughly been enjoying his alone time with Snow and that selfish desire in his heart grew with each day. Snow had become the easiest person he could talk to, his best friend, maybe something even greater than that. Snow never brushed Hope’s feelings aside or made Hope’s opinion feel unwanted. Snow genuinely was interested in what Hope had to say and treated Hope like an equal. And of course, Snow was Snow. The giant of a man had made a spot for himself in Hope’s heart that fit him so well. Hope knew he was doomed to keep loving Snow, and maybe that was a good thing.

“Hope?” Snow asked, waving his other hand. Hope gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement. “Are you… mad that I haven’t told anyone else?”

“Mad?” Hope asked, brows furrowing. “Why would I be mad? This has been the most peaceful and happy times of my life.”

Snow’s eyebrows shot up at the statement. “In your life? Are you really including everything?”

“I think so. You have to remember after we woke up from our crystal sleep, I went straight to work, I never had any leisure time, unless you count those centuries I was asleep through. You’ve…” Snow tilted his head and waited patiently for Hope to continue. “You’ve made each day worth getting up for.” Seeing the other man’s shock, Hope quickly continued to explain himself. “I still have nightmares, about a lot of things, our time as l’cie, what if’s, B-Bhunivelze… But the worst is always the loneliness that came with everything. It’s easy to feel all alone in a crowd…” Snow shifted Hope’s feet out from under his thigh, and Hope at first thought that he’d annoyed the man, before Snow slowly inched his way closer to Hope. Hope didn’t say anything until he was practically in Snow’s lap. “You really are a hero, you know that?” Hope asked sofly. “You really are.”

Snow let out a watery laugh as he pulled Hope into a hug. It was an awkward position to give a hug, but Hope felt truly loved in that moment. “You’re special to me, Hope,” Snow whispered into Hope’s hair. “Really special. And I’m going to try to always be there for you when you need me. I may not have the best track record, but I believe I can do this for you now. I don’t care if you need me at three in the morning and I have the first shift at the station, you call me if you need me.”

“A promise then?”

“A vow actually.”

Hope was quiet for a moment before pulling away slightly and pushing his forehead against Snow’s. “You know we’re still going to have to tell the others that I’m here, right?” The groan that Snow released made him flustered, but it was amusing nonetheless. “But I guess we could wait a while longer, but if anybody asks why they weren’t informed, I’m blaming you.”

The mock gasp that came out of Snow sounded like it belonged to Vanille. “You’d throw me under the bus like that?”

“I don’t want to be the target of Light’s wrath.”

Snow winced at the very suggestion. “Maybe you can also throw in a good word for me, you know, say something like you wanted me all to yourself.”

Hope rolled his eyes and tried not to think of the truth to Snow’s statement. “You’re a goof.”

Snow shot him a pleased grin. “But I’m your goof.”

Hope shook his head. Not quite, Snow, but maybe. But what if it what Snow was saying was true in a way? What if Snow was Hope’s?

“Do…” Snow’s voice was hesitant and Hope immediately tuned back into their conversation. “Do you want me to be?”

Hope looked at Snow with a confused expression. “Want you to be what?”

“You mentioned if I was yours, so I’m asking you, do you want me to be?”

Hope felt both mortified and scared at Snow’s question. He wasn’t counting on saying the thought out loud. He shifted to try and create a little distance between them, but failed to make any real difference. What was he supposed to say in this situation? He didn’t want to ruin everything that he and Snow had built.

“You… I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud,” Hope said, his voice barely a whisper. “I- you can forget I ever said anything, it really doesn’t matter all that much.”

“It does matter,” Snow insisted. It seemed their light-hearted evening was disappearing rapidly. “You can tell me, it won’t change anything.”

Hope shook his head. “But it will,” he chanced a look at Snow, but quickly diverted his gaze when he saw the intense look Snow was giving him. “I like what we have right now, I don’t want that to go away.”

“Hope, just tell me. I promise that I’m not going to be mad and things won’t change and we’ll still be friends and everything will be-“

“Yes.”

Snow paused his pledge and furrowed his eyebrows at Hope. “What?”

Hope heaved a heavy sigh. “You asked if I wanted you to be mine,” Hope paused and tilted his head to look at the ceiling. Was that water stain always there? “My answer is yes.”

“Oh,” Snow relaxed beside him and turned his attention to the neglected movie still playing on the screen. “Well that’s a relief.” Hope made a choked noise and Snow cracked a smile. “This makes everything a lot simpler then.”

“Wha- how is it simpler?” Hope asked.

“Well, I like you, you like me, so that’s all there is to it, right?”

Hope looked at Snow with disbelief. “It’s a little more than just like, Snow.”

Snow made a noncommittal hum and grabbed Hope’s hand in his. Hope allowed the soothing warmth of Snow’s hands to calm him, but still looked at Snow for more of an answer. “I love you, Hope, a lot if me not telling anyone else I found you says anything about that. So we continue what we’re doing, we get together, we hang out, maybe we go a little farther, whatever you’re comfortable with, that’s where we’re heading. There’s no rush to try and figure this all out now, we can take it at our own pace.”

Hope felt a pleasant warmth settle in his chest and a heat settle in his cheeks. He’d wanted this for a long time, and he never thought he would ever get it. He never expected Snow to like him back, and he didn’t really know where to go from here. He was sailing in uncharted territory, he’d never been in a relationship before. But Snow was right, they could take it at their own pace.

The two were quiet for a while, Hope still awkwardly smooshed to Snow’s side, with his legs across Snow’s lap. Snow’s thumb rubbed absentmindedly against his knuckles.

“Snow?” Hope asked, as the credits of the movie started.

“Yeah?” Snow asked, turning his attention to Hope, his expression soft.

Hope wondered if he should even ask this of Snow already, but gathered up his courage. “May I- I mean if you’re okay with it, may I… k-kiss you?”

Snow didn’t seem bothered by the question at all as he smiled at Hope and leaned forward slowly. Hope snorted when their noses bumped, but Snow just accommodated to the change. The warm, chapped surface of Snow’s lips felt foreign on his own, but not bad. He didn’t know what to do with his hands, so he settled them on Snow’s shoulders. Hope let Snow guide him through the kiss and basked in the gentle ministrations.

When the two broke apart, Hope let out a shuddering breath. “Are all kisses like that?” Hope asked, looking at Snow.

“Some are, some are a little more intimate, some are a little dirtier, but I think these are the best,” Snow said, leaning his forehead against Hope’s.

“Why do you do that?” Snow’s raised eyebrow made Hope continue. “We lean our foreheads together a lot, why?”

Snow shrugged. “I feel like I can maybe hear what you’re thinking like this.”

“Is it working?”

Snow gave Hope a helpless look. “That’s yet to be concluded.”

Hope laughed and felt his eyes soften. “I think we’re going to have to do that again.”

“Kiss?”

Hope nodded his head. “I still need to figure out how I’m supposed to breathe.”

Snow snorted. “Practice makes perfect, Hope. And try breathing through your nose, everything else we can figure out together. We’ll find out what we both like to do while kissing and work with each other.”

Hope smiled. “So, more kisses then?”

“Definitely more kisses.”

Hope and Snow were going to have to tell the others a whole lot more than just that Snow had found him. But he hoped that the others would be supportive, and they probably would be. Maybe. Eventually. But right now, Hope was going to enjoy the time he had with Snow.


	5. Chapter 5

“Sir, do you need to be somewhere?” Phineas asked, breaking Hope’s train of thought.

Hope shook his head. “I’m sorry, Phineas,” Hope said, “I’m just a bit distracted at the moment. Can you repeat what you were saying?”

Phineas shot him a grin. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with that man that keeps coming to get you after work?” Hope’s cheeks flushed and he awkwardly coughed, refusing to meet his coworker’s eyes. “It is, huh? So, who is he? Your boyfriend?”

“Well, you see, he’s-“ Hope had never felt so flustered before, then again, this had never happened to him before. Better to avoid saying the wrong thing and just come out with it. “Yes.”

Phineas smiled at him, his eyebrows raised curiously. “Care to share a little information?”

Perhaps this is what Hope needed. He and Snow hadn’t really thought about telling the gang about their relationship right off the bat, especially since they didn’t even know that Snow had found him yet (which would have to be resolved soon). But Hope was _happy_ and _proud_ about his relationship with Snow, even in the beginning stage it was in now. He wanted to tell people, wanted to shout it from the rooftops sometimes (though he doubted he’d ever have the courage to do so).

“His name’s Snow Villiers,” Hope started.

Phineas rolled his eyes. “Another last name that’s foreign.”

“Sorry we all can’t be Stiffler’s.” Phineas snorted and waved for Hope to continue. “I’ve known him for a long time and for a while we… lost touch with each other and recently we found each other again. Well, he found me at least. And well, he’s a firefighter and he’s trying to write a book. Snow has long hair and a beard that’s pretty soft surprisingly. And he’s an idiot a lot of the time, but he’s sweet and kind and heroic and he says the sweetest things sometimes and he listens and-“

“Okay, I’ve heard enough,” Phineas said holding a hand up to stop him from talking. “Yeesh, and I thought my sister talked a lot about her boyfriend, you could probably keep talking for another ten minutes.”

Hope sputtered and looked down at his feet. He never got to talk about Snow to anyone else, so he just thought he’d let everything out. “Sorry.”

Phineas shook his head, chuckling softly. “Don’t worry about it. It sounds like he makes you very happy, which is something I haven’t seen from you since I met you.” Hope frowned and looked curiously at Phineas. “You’ve always carried this weight on your shoulders and when you smiled it was… I don’t know, melancholy or something? Subdued? Anyway, ever since that day you left to see him that first time, you’ve seemed to have lost that weight.” Hope gaped at Phineas, surprised that Phineas was able to pick up on any of what he was feeling. Phineas seemed to take his silence as disbelief and snorted. “But what do I know? I’m Galileon cosmologist, not a psychologist.”

Hope smiled at Phineas. “Yes, well, shall we go back to what you were discussing before I got distracted? I do in fact have a commitment this evening and I would hate to be late.”

 

 

Snow arrived at 6:05 like he usually did, except this time he looked different. Not in the way he dressed or looked, but his energy felt different. Like he was nervous.

“Hi Hope,” Snow said with a grin.

Hope smiled up at Snow and grabbed his hand. “Hey, how are you?” Hope asked leading them to Snow’s bike. Riding on the back of the motorcycle to Snow’s place was both exhilarating and one of the most terrifying things Hope has done (at least when he first road with Snow).

Snow paused his walking for a moment but quickly continued. “I’m fine, yeah things are going well.”

Hope made a noncommittal noise and raised his eyebrow at Snow. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

Snow laughed nervously for a moment, but quickly let it die out when Hope didn’t start laughing either. Snow let out a huge sigh and squeezed Hope’s hand tighter for a moment. “So uh… how would you feel about seeing the gang tonight?”

Hope’s eyebrows crept up his forehead. “Do they know you found me?”

“Uh, well, sorta?” Snow said, tilting his head. “Well, I was talking to Serah and we were just talking about how we were doing and all that and then she mentioned she might have found someone to go out with or something and I mentioned that I was dating someone too and then she insisted I bring them over to meet everyone. And like, I know this isn’t how we were going to tell them but I tried getting out of it but she insisted and-“

“Snow,” Hope said, interrupting the other man’s rant. “I know that this situation isn’t… ideal.” That was an understatement, Hope could practically feel the panic building in his chest. He loved their group, but he’d been disconnected from them for a couple of centuries and he wasn’t sure how they’d react to _this_. “But, it uh, it should be fine. We’ll get through it together.” Snow’s eyes lit up and he gave Hope one of his signature grins. “And if they don’t approve, well… we’ll figure it out as we go I suppose.”

Snow gave his hand another firm squeeze. “It should be fine, probably.”

Hope snorted and shook his head. “I guess you’re going to have to start sharing me.”

Snow gaped at him. “What?”

Hope laughed and raised his head to look at Snow. “Well, they’re going to want to hang out with me sometimes.”

Snow scratched the back of his head and heaved a sigh. “Is it too late to cancel? I could say that you came down with a horrible illness and it’s super contagious.”

“Of course, you’d already be infected so you couldn’t leave.”

Snow nodded. “Yep, I think it’s a pretty solid plan personally.”

Hope shook his head. “I doubt they’ll believe that, but good try.” He was looking forward to a relaxing evening with Snow, but Hope knew that it was better for the group to know that Hope was alive and well (and dating Snow). “So, where is this reunion slash meet-the-significant-other meeting happening?”

“Serah and Lightning said that their place would work best, since they have the most room.”

Hope nodded and tugged lightly at Snow’s hand. “I guess we should be going.”

Snow let out a noncommittal noise and leaned his head down slightly to place a kiss on Hope’s temple. “We’ll be fine, it’s just the gang.”

To Hope though, it still felt like he was entering a lion’s den.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading *gives you all a plate of cookies and a glass of milk*  
> Please leave a review if you have time! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Has Hope entered the lion's den?

Lion’s den be damned, as the two arrived at Lightning and Serah’s place Hope decided that it was much more like being delicately shoved off a cliff and falling into a feeding frenzy of sharks. Definitely more accurate. His fingers squeezed at Snow’s hand desperately and halted their approach to the door.

For a moment, Hope just gazed around at the yard. The grass was dying in a few patches and the garden was having its last bloom before winter came in. The house was nice too, quaint almost with its chipped blue paint and freshly painted shutters. He wondered if he and Snow would ever buy a house together in the future, though Hope enjoyed their apartment as well.

“Hope?” Snow asked softly, pulling him from his thoughts.

Hope turned his eyes to Snow. “I don’t think I can do this,” Hope admitted hesitantly.

Snow sighed and pulled Hope to his chest. Hope breathed in Snow’s calming scent and released a shuddering breath. “It will be fine, I promise. If at any point you feel like it’s getting to be too much, just let me know and I’ll take you out of there alright?”

“I know I just- I haven’t seen them in so long. What am I supposed to say?”

Snow shrugged. “You don’t _have_ to say anything, you can just answer some of their questions and any questions they ask about us I can answer.”

Hope wondered if it’d really be that simple, but the words were reassuring enough to get him to step away from Snow’s embrace. He coughed nervously and gestured to the door. “I guess we should go then?”

Snow smiled and leaned down to place a kiss against his cheek. “Well come on then, times a moving now unlike it was before.”

Hope snorted. “That was so bad.”

“And yet you still laughed.”

Hope stuck his tongue out at Snow, letting himself be childish for once. Before straightening his back and walking towards the door, Snow quickly following him. Before he could knock, Snow gently moved him behind him. He must have seen the curious look Hope was giving him because he quickly explained himself. “Thought you might want me to introduce you.”

Hope quickly nodded his head and lightly grasped the back of Snow’s shirt as he knocked on the door. For once he was happy that Snow was still so much taller than he was because he made the perfect hiding spot. He felt his breath hitch as footsteps approached the door and if wasn’t for his fear of being spotted, Hope probably would have run away. It was weird to be this apprehensive of his own friends, but he couldn’t help it.

“Snow, you made it!” Hope recognized the cheerful voice of Serah and felt his shoulders relax a little. At least it wasn’t Lightning who’d answered the door.

“Of course I did, you asked me to come, remember?” Snow said.

Serah giggled softly and paused for a moment. “You didn’t bring your girlfriend?”

Hope resisted his desire to laugh by burying his face in Snow’s back. Snow had no qualms about holding in his laughter and Hope felt the vibrations travel through him. “Well, _he’s_ pretty shy, but ah he’s behind me is all.”

“Oh I’m so sorry, I just didn’t- that’s completely- I didn’t know it was a boyfriend.” Serah’s stammering apology warmed Hope’s heart with its familiarity. “But, he’s okay with meeting us right? Like, he knows that we’re nice?”

“Oh he knows alright,” Hope whispered.

Serah seemed to have grown impatient of waiting for Snow to introduce him and decided to introduce herself first as she pushed Snow to the side as well as she could. “Hi there I’m Serah, and it’s so nice to-“

Hope watched warily as Serah’s voice died off as she realized who she was talking to. Hope desperately wished he was better at reading emotions in that moment. And the anxiety that had started to settle flared up so fast in Hope’s stomach he thought he was going to throw up right there. He felt Snow places a calming hand on his lower back, but it did little to help him.

Hope scrambled for something to say, something that would explain himself or what was going on. “Surprise?” Hope said hesitantly. It seemed his eloquence flew the coop along with his courage, wonderful.

Serah shook her head a few times and continued to shift her eyes from Hope to Snow. “Hope?” Serah asked. Hope wasn’t sure whether she was addressing Hope’s sudden reappearance or his status as Snow’s boyfriend, but nodded his head to confirm both questions.

Serah released a soft squeak and quickly scampered back in the house, leaving the door open. Hope gave Snow a bewildered look. “So do we go in?” Hope asked.

Chuckling, Snow swept his arm forward. “After you, honored guest,” Snow said.

“I don’t know if I feel very honored, she could only say one word to me after she found out it was me.”

“Eh, you just surprised her is all, besides she’s probably scrambling to tell everyone that you’re here.”

“If she can get the words out.”

Snow laughed and nodded his head before pulling Hope into the house with him. Hope listened to the cacophony coming from what he assumed to be the living room and laughed as he heard Serah trying to explain why she was in such shock. Like they did at the door, Snow made sure that everyone would see him first before they saw Hope.

“Serah, you’re not making any sense, can you please calm down and explain clearly?” Lightning asked. “You keep saying something about Snow and his… boyfriend?”

“Yes, boyfriend is correct, sis,” Snow said happily and not for the first time did Hope envy Snow’s optimism.

“I’m not your sister,” Lightning reminded calmly.

Fang snorted loudly. “Of course that’s what you got outta that. What I wanna know is when Snow here decided he was batting for the other team,” Fang said.

“He’s a special guy, you know,” Snow said.

“Well, I for one, wanna meet the man who captured your heart,” Vanille said happily.

Noel crossed his arms. “I just want to know why it has Serah in a tizzy,” he said.

Taking that as his cue, Hope mustered up his courage and stepped out from behind Snow. “Hello again everyone,” he said softly. He congratulated himself on getting the words out and waited for the groups reactions. For a moment or two the room was silent, and those few seconds seemed to stretch for minutes before everyone started talking at once. Hope tried to pick out all the questions he was being asked, but they were all scrambling together and he couldn’t make any sense of the questions. Seeming to sense Hope becoming overwhelmed, Snow quickly shouted for everyone to be quiet.

“Now, can you all ask one at a time or something? Even Hope can’t process all those questions at once,” Snow said.

The group sat there awkwardly for a moment and Hope fidgeted slightly before Noel spoke up.

“So, you’re dating Snow?” Noel asked. Hope laughed nervously and nodded his head. “How long?”

Snow winced and scratched the back of his head. “Uh, not too long, just… a couple of months…” Snow said, letting his voice trail off. Hope knew they should have told everyone before, but he didn’t exactly regret not telling anyone that he’d been found.

Lightning seemed to care though, as she narrowed her eyes and practically growled at Snow, “And you didn’t even let us know that you found him? Don’t you think we had a right to know that you’d found Hope?”

“Well, he was going to,” Hope said, widening his eyes at his own words. “It- Well, when Snow found me, he sent an email to my work email, I told him that I wanted to… keep him… all to myself…” Well, now that he already looked pathetic, he could try to redeem himself a little. “But I was planning on telling you guys,” eventually “but I’m here now and yeah.”

The room was quiet again before he heard Sazh sigh. “I’m getting to old for all of this, just come give this old man a hug Hope,” Sazh said, opening up his arms.

Hope felt a grin spread across his face as he quickly walked over and hugged Sazh. It wasn’t as nice as hugging Snow, but it was still enjoyable and warm. He felt little arms wrap around his waist and looked down to see Dajh who was giving him a toothy grin.

“Group hug!” Vanille shouted, before wrapping herself around Sazh and Hope. Hope groaned slightly as everyone’s weight seemed to be crushing him, but he couldn’t say that it wasn’t a nice feeling.

“Alright, enough of this mushy stuff,” Fang said, separating herself from the hug, quickly followed by everyone else.

Hope turned to look at everyone, his nerves still going strong. “So, you uh, approve of Snow’s boyfriend then?” he asked.

Serah was the one who spoke up. “If you two are truly happy, then I don’t see the problem with it,” she said before a sly grin formed on her face. “I should’ve known though, the way you were back in Academia 400 AF, you guys were already being mushy together.”

Everyone laughed at Snow and Hope’s sputtering and Hope felt his nervousness fade away. He really should have known it would go well, these were his friends of course they would want him to be happy.

“You’re going to have to share him now though Snow, I can’t have you monopolizing _all_ of Hopes’ time,” Lightning said crossing her arms again and giving Snow a no-nonsense look.

Snow let out an indignant huff before grabbing onto Hope. “Hope likes me monopolizing his time though, and it should be his decision,” Snow said.

Hope saw a couple of people roll their eyes and felt himself grin. Everything would be fine.

And if he still happened to tell the others he was busy more often than not so he could spend more time with Snow, well, they didn’t have to know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THAT IS A WRAP FOR THIS AU (probably...)!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading this because I loved writing this. If you have any prompts you'd like me to write just send an ask to cakelanguage.tumblr.com/ask

**Author's Note:**

> If you want me to continue this, let me know (I'll probably continue it anyway) 
> 
> If you've got a prompt you'd like me to write, just send me an ask at cakelanguage.tumblr.com


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